A Penfleet Tour and Recipe with Veronica Henry

High Tide, which sees Veronica Henry returning to the little Cornish seaside town of Penfleet, home of The Long Weekend, is out today. To celebrate, Veronica is taking us on an exclusive tour of Penfleet House. (There's pear crumble waiting for us, too.)

'4 Pennfleet House

Vanessa has been hiding behind husband’s shadow for years. Although they live in wealth and luxury in Pennfleet House, overlooking the harbour, she has never really found out who she is and what she wants. Or what she might be capable of. She relishes the opportunity to be her own person, and discovers she is more daring than she ever thought!

I wanted to explore the notion that it is never too late to be what you want to be, and also the relationship between an older woman and a younger man ... Vanessa is not a cougar, far from it, but when she finds herself attracted to Nathan, who is half her age, it gives her a boost in confidence and the prospect of an exciting future. She learns to throw caution to the winds and say ‘why the hell not …?’

Here is a recipe inspired by autumn in Pennfleet – enjoy!!

Pear and bramble crumble

For four

Chop four ripe pears and cook gently in a pan with 100g brown sugar. When they are softening, add two handfuls of blackberries plucked from the hedgerows! Heat through and divide into four ramekins. Make a crumble topping with 100g butter 200g plain flour 100g soft brown sugar. Mix in 100g of your favourite chopped nut – or a mixture. Sprinkle over each pear-filled ramekin and bake for 25 mins at gas mark 5/190. Serve with wicked clotted cream.